Debarred NSUI,ABVP candidates move HC

NSUI and ABVP candidates disqualified from contesting the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls moved the Delhi High Court on Monday against the Delhi University’s decision to debar them for violation of the code of conduct.

Deepak Negi,who was standing for President,and Umesh Tomar,standing for Vice President,from the NSUI; and Rohit Chahal,standing for President,Lalit Kumar,standing for Secretary,and Joint Secretary Ashok Khare of the ABVP,were disqualified by the Election Officer for their alleged failure to comply with the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. They were found spending money in excess of the fixed amount of Rs 5,000,using cars and organising rallies for their election campaigns,which are against the recommendations put forward by former Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh. In their petition,the ABVP candidates have alleged the university has misinterpreted the recommendations and sought that the court restores their right to fight the elections. The NSUI candidates said the party was against the recommendations as they were not feasible or practical,and added the election officer cannot exercise his power once their names were finalised. The petitions by the two students’ bodies are likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday.

Meanwhile,the candidates said they will continue to protest against the DU authorities’ “unwarranted” decision; they said the hasty decision should have been avoided as penalties and other punishments have yielded results.